


Work Days Are Long Without You

by deadlydecember1214



Series: The Losers Of ‘89 Were Here [8]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King, KING Stephen - Works
Genre: 5 +1 fic, Aaron Tozier (Original Character), Alex Tozier (Original Character), And Finally 27, Babies!, Cassie Tozier (Original Character), David Olsen (Original Character), F/M, Flirting, Future Fic, Hints of Benverly, Hints of Stenbrough, Kaspbrak-Tozier babies, Kissing, M/M, Mr. Costello (Original Character), Stenbrough, Then 20, Then 22, They are 15, a little blood, aged-up, benverly - Freeform, both book verse and movie verse, not much, then 17, then 19, work visits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 23:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12851613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadlydecember1214/pseuds/deadlydecember1214
Summary: Five times Richie visits Eddie at work and a time when Eddie visits Richie.AKA: Richie annoys Eddie five times while he's working and one time Eddie makes Richie's day by returning the favor.(5 +1 Fic)





	Work Days Are Long Without You

**Author's Note:**

> I love Reddie more than I should and my best friend/soulmate/sister and I came up with a ton of headcanons and this is the result of one. I claim Cassie Tozier, Alex Tozier, and Aaron Tozier as they are my and my friend’s headcanon babies. 
> 
> Sidenote: Please tell me if you would like to see more Tozier kids or Loser Club kids in future fics. Seriously, give me requests and suggestions! I may not get to them right away, but I will get to them eventually.

** _(One - The Aladdin)_ **

Eddie was 15 and just starting his first paying part-time job when Richie visited him at work the first time.

It had taken a whole year after he’d turned the correct age for a working permit to persuade his mother to actually let him get one. 

_You’ll overwork yourself!_

_You’re too delicate, Eddie Bear!_

_What do you need a job for anyway? I provide for you!_

Eddie hadn’t had the courage to tell his mother that he needed a job to start saving for college. NYU, his dream school, wasn’t cheap.

Sonia would never forgive him if he dared to bring up the topic of further education. She wanted him to stay right where he was in their little house in tiny, suffocating Derry with her day after day. She couldn’t even imagine her little boy going off to college in New York and she’d definitely never pay to help him do it. 

Eddie’s only option was to keep shut up about his plans and try to pay his own way.

Practically every teenager in Derry worked at either Freese’s Department Store or the Aladdin at some point. It was the starting point for all their mediocre career paths. So, Eddie applied at the Aladdin, since Bill worked there, and was hired shortly after. The theater was a revolving door of high school aged employees and willing to give any kid in Derry a shot.

Bill watched him from the cash register, arms crossed over his chest and a glint of amusement in his eyes. Eddie sent him a quick glare and wiped harder at the smuggled glass candy display.

“You know no one c-c-cares if that’s clean, right?” Bill quirked an eyebrow.

“ _I_ care.” Eddie corrected, “This place is disgusting. If I’m going to be working here, I’m going to make it clean.”

Bill raised his hands in mock surrender, “If you i-i-insist, E-E-Eddie.”

Eddie returned to frantically windexing the glass case and wiping, “I mean, what does it say about the Aladdin if everything’s covered in dust?”

“Does it ma-matter?” Bill asked, “I-I mean, it’s the o-o-only theater in t-town, so...”

Bill trailed off, only for his attention to be grabbed a moment later by a couple approaching the counter. He hadn’t taught Eddie how to work the ticket printer yet, so the other boy just watched at Bill silently worked up the couple’s tickets. 

He noticed that Bill didn’t speak a single syllable more than he had to. The leader of the Losers spoke freely and easily around his friends but, though his stutter was always improving, he still got quiet around strangers.

Eddie frowned and went about changing out the syrup in the soda machine, something Bill _had_ already walked him through. 

About two hours into Eddie’s very first shift, the door of the Aladdin swung open and five Losers came strolling in. 

Beverly, who’d only moved back to Derry at the start of summer a month ago, was chatting enthusiastically with Ben. Mike and Stan were behind them, also talking until Stan caught Bill’s eye and fell silent with a blush. But Eddie’s attention was drawn to the asshole leading the small crowd. 

Richie grinned and bounded up to the counter, lifting himself up to sit on the glass display Eddie’d just scrubbed down. 

Eddie gave the boy an aghast look, “Get your disgusting ass off!”

“Aw, but Eds, I just want to be close to you! You don’t have any time for me now that you’re a real working man!” Richie reached out and pinched Eddie’s cheek.

“Don’t _do_ that!” Eddie snapped, pushing Richie’s hand away. What was the asshole even talking about, anyway? Richie’d been working at the arcade since the start of summer. If anything, he hadn’t had time for Eddie lately.

“Okay, okay, you two!” Mike came over and pulled Richie off the counter, throwing him over his shoulder. “Stop flirting.”

Eddie’s face turned bright red, “W-we were _not_ flirting!”

Over Mike’s shoulder, Richie could be heard calling, “Actually, I _was_ flirting!”

Bill grinned from behind the counter. Glancing over at Stan though, he quickly looked back down at the ticket machine and spoke to Ben, the grin replaced by a blush.

“Hey, g-guys. What m-movie?”

Beverly helped pull Richie from Mike’s shoulder before tugging both boys back to the counter, “The Silence of The Lambs.”

“Bev, you said—“ Stan started, looking outraged.

“Oh hush,” Beverly waved him off, scooting closer to Ben until their shoulders brushed. “You would have come no matter the movie, _Stanley_.” 

She turned her head back to Bill and winked at him. He gulped, glancing over her shoulder at an indignant Stan, who was now closely inspecting his Adidas. Clearing his throat, Bill told Bev the total, having subtracted his own employee discount as a favor.

Richie made his way back to Eddie, an amused smirk on his lips. 

Before he could even speak, Eddie threw his hand up and cut him off, “No. I am trying to work, asshole. So, buy a soda or fuck off.”

“Damn, Eds,” Richie whistled under his breath. “I’m hurt.”

“Please,” Eddie rolled his eyes, “You’re fine.”

Richie shrugged, “True but only because seeing you in this uniform cheers me up.” He reached out and ghosted his hand over Eddie’s shoulder. “So damn adorable.”

The other boy’s mouth was left slightly a gap as he tried to find the words to respond. Richie had a habit of tripping Eddie up and leaving him speechless. He threw Eddie for a loop and looked so carefree doing it; it infuriated the asthmatic.

Richie glanced over at their friends, who were still occupied with buying their movie tickets, before resting his elbows on the counter and leaning in closer to Eddie. His lip twitched up into a genuine smile instead of his usual playful smirk.

“I’m proud of you, Eddie Spaghetti.” 

Eddie gulped and shrugged, inspecting the glass counter, "I, uh- Well, I guess, thank-"

“Richie!”

Both boys turned at Stan’s voice, Eddie jumping and nearly toppling the condiments container. Their friends gave each other knowing looks before Stan continued, “Movie, remember? You coming or not? You can talk to Eddie after we get out.”

Richie Tozier, who never got embarrassed and was never flustered, rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged at Eddie with pink ears, “See you later, Spaghetti Man.”

Eddie watched him bound after the other Losers, easily catching up to match their strides with his long legs. 

Turning back to Bill, he swallowed and shakily said, “What a Trashmouth, huh?”

Bill snorted, “S-sure, Eddie.”

 

* * *

** _(Two - Center Street Drug)_ **

Having a part-time job and attempting to make the first relationship of your life work — he did _not_ count his four days as Tanya Barrett’s boyfriend in Freshman year — all while maintaining stellar grades was difficult, Eddie Kaspbrak was finding.

He’d been working since he was 15, now a stock boy at Center Street Drug instead of the Aladdin, and he’d never before had trouble finding hours to dedicate to odd shifts. Weekend days and Friday evenings were avoided when possible so that he could hang out with the Losers but for the most part, he took whatever schedule Mr. Keene handed down.

...Until he’d gotten himself a boyfriend a month ago.

Call it the honeymoon phase, the bubble, whatever you wanted, but the simple fact of the matter was that all Eddie wanted these days was to be near Richie. 

When he wasn’t with the notorious Trashmouth, he was thinking about being with him. He watched the clock, checked his wristwatch, observed the way the sunlight shadowed the shelves of the drugstore, counting the minutes until his shift would end and he’d be able to meet up with his boyfriend once again.

That was basically how he occupied the long stretches of time where no one came into Center Street Drug. Thinking about Richie once again, Eddie walked up and down the aisles and straightened various products. He had just reached the far counter when he heard the bell above the door ring, signaling a customer. 

“I’ll be with you in one moment!” Eddie called, making his way back toward the door. He paused at the start of the aisle, glancing over his shoulder to double check the store was still empty. “Richie? What are you doing here?”

His boyfriend kept his head down, moving forward with his hands in the pockets of his ripped black jeans. “I, uh, I need some help, Eddie Spaghetti.”

Richie looked up, an expression of uncharacteristic uncertainty on his face. The drugstore stock boy was so taken aback that he didn’t even comment on the stupid fucking nickname.

“What are you talking about?” Eddie asked, stepping forward. For once, he was thankful for the slow business of the Center Street Drug. He and Riche weren’t exactly public yet to anyone but the Losers Club.

“Uh, well, you see...” The other boy slowly pulled his hands from his pockets, flinching as he extended his arms and opened his balled fists. Kleenex had been gripped in his palms and were soaked through with his blood.

Eddie gasped involuntarily and rushed forward, gingerly cupping Richie’s hands in his own. “What happened?”

Richie shrugged but remained silent and instantly Eddie knew. How ever his boyfriend had gotten injured, it was somehow caused by his parents. Richie only got quiet when Maggie and Wentworth Tozier were involved. Normally, he couldn’t be shut up.

Eddie swallowed down the rage that burned to life in his chest and nodded, “Okay then, come on.”

He gripped Richie’s forearm and began to lead him down the aisle, picking up various products along the way and stuffing them into the crook of his free arm. He’d pay for them later and stack his frequent customer and employee discounts.

Reaching the back counter, Eddie dropped Richie’s arm and fished a set of keys from the pocket of his tan slacks. He unlocked the half door to the pharmacy and let Richie in before closing it behind them.

Finally, he sat his boyfriend down at a desk set behind one of the shelves of medicine, out of sight should anyone wander in. Eddie wasn’t ashamed to be dating Richie, but he wasn’t stupid either. The people of Derry weren’t ready for that yet.

He hadn’t admitted yet to his own mother that he and Richie were dating, let alone strangers. Richie had agreed to play along because they both knew that in a town like Derry it was physically safer to be straight. Richie wanted Eddie safe.

Richie watched from his seat as Eddie carefully set out gauze, triple antibiotic, and wrappings. Holding his hand out when Eddie gestured for it, Richie cringed as the other boy pulled away the tissues and inspected the actual cuts in his palms.

They were deep but not quite deep enough for Eddie to insist on the emergency room. He’d gone through these motions with Richie enough to know that the insistence would only by falling on deaf ears anyway. Hospitals asked too many questions, according to the Trashmouth. Eddie thought that maybe _someone_ should be asking questions, but he didn’t voice that.

“There’s glass in one of these cuts, dark glass like a—” _Like a Budweiser._ Eddie held Richie’s hand close. His eyes flickered to meet his boyfriend’s as he softly murmured, “So, glass... Your mother and a beer bottle?”

Richie smirked, though it didn’t reach his eyes, “In all fairness, I think she was just practicing for when Dad got home but yeah, she threw a bottle or two.”

“ _At_ you?”

“In my general direction.” Richie shrugged again and Eddie thought he might throw up from rage and his exhaustion at dealing with a boyfriend who was seemingly unbothered by the abuse he had to take from his shit parents.

Instead of saying anything more, Eddie just sighed and took up tweezers he’d grabbed before, angling Richie’s hand toward the light. Tongue peeking out from between his teeth, he started to go after the shard of glass embedded in his boyfriend’s palm. 

Richie gasped and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Dammit, Eddie! A little warning next time, maybe? I thought I was gonna pass out there for a second.” He grounded out from between clenched teeth.

The other boy rolled his eyes but still looked apologetic, “Don’t be a baby! Besides, I already got it.” 

He reached over and dropped the shard into the discarded, bloody tissues. Next, he grabbed the alcohol swabs and tore the small packets open to clean Richie’s cuts. The other boy squirmed but managed to stay still enough for Eddie to get the job done. 

The short hypochondriac paused, hand hovering above a thin white scar that had been sliced by one of the lacerations. Raising his own hand, he laid their palms side-by-side, eyes flickering from one scar to the other. 

The Blood Oath. It was just another thing that tied him to Richie like the red string of fate, their promise to come back, one day…

Richie overturned one of his hands, tracing an uninjured fingertip along the long since healed wound on Eddie. The feather-light touch gave the other boy chills, causing him to pull away and blink rapidly as if startled.

“Uh, don’t want you to get any infections,” Eddie muttered, trying to recover from the touch that had felt so intimate and personal a moment ago. He shakily applied triple antibiotic to the now clean cuts before setting gauze over them and encasing both hands in wrappings.

Reluctantly, his eyes trailed from Richie’s hands which still settled into his own up to his face. Eddie’s heart skipped a beat, realizing how close the two of them really were, enough that he heard Richie’s breath quicken as their gazes met. Richie’s cheek turned the lightest shade of pink and Eddie grinned, blushing scarlet himself.

He liked making Richie nervous, especially because his boyfriend always seemed ‘too cool for nerves’.

“I hate seeing you hurt.” He breathed, a whispered confession meant just for the two of them, in that moment.

Richie didn’t even blink as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against Eddie’s, their eyes staying locked the whole time. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Eddie shook his head ever so slightly so as not to make Richie move away from him. Angling his neck, he brought their faces even closer together, noses brushing. “Nothing to be sorry for. I just wish...” 

Finally, his gaze flickered away, down to Richie’s hands. Quickly ducking his head, he pressed a light kiss to each wrapped palm before taken back up his previous position of sharing Richie’s personal space. “I just wish things were different. That you were safe.”

Richie looked at Eddie so intensely that, for a moment, Eddie thought he’d die right there from the fire stirring in his stomach. Then Richie leaned in and bridged the gap between their lips, kissing Eddie so hard that it hurt a little. Eddie didn’t mind.

Instead, Eddie kissed him back just as intensely, moving his lips against Richie’s in the natural rhythm that they always seemed to lull into when they did this. It was like they were meant to kiss each other like they were meant to _only_ kiss each other. Eddie knew how stupid that sounded and yet it still felt so true.

Richie pulled away and chuckled when Eddie attempted to chase his lips, “Hey, hey, hey, you’re on the clock, baby. We can finish this later.”

Eddie almost died again hearing Richie call him ‘baby’.

* * *

** _(Three - The Village Grocery)_ **

New York was so much fucking better than Derry, dear God.

The water tasted better, the air was easier to breathe, and the sun shone more on Central Park than it ever had on Memorial or Bassey. Coming to New York, despite his mother begging for him not to, was one of the greatest things Eddie Kaspbrak had ever done.

People did as they pleased here, seemingly unafraid to like what they liked and be who they wanted. 

And there was NYU, with its nursing program, grand library, and polished, gleaming surfaces that were more than Eddie had ever dared to imagine. It was like he was living the ‘Theme from New York, New York’ by Frank Sinatra. He’d always thought it was so over exaggerated when people talked about being in love with a place or an object; Eddie’d only ever truly been in love with other people. Only, now he understood. 

He was _in love_ with New York.

Eddie swore the only thing keeping the city from actually being the love of his life was Richie Tozier, who’d long ago claimed that position.

And because of his love for both Richie Tozier and New York, he was planning on moving into an apartment in the Village with his boyfriend before the start of their second year at NYU that fall. He still smiled to himself when he recalled to mind how nervous Richie’d been to finally ask him to find a place together. It was foolish, of course, seeing as Richie traded dorms with Bill every night so that they could both be with their boyfriends, meaning that Richie and Eddie were practically already cohabitating. 

The issue was that moving into an apartment cost money, something neither Richie nor Eddie had an abundance of. 

So, Richie was working, a paid internship at the campus radio station that he hoped would eventually get him some connections. Eddie still thought it was incredibly appropriate that Richie ‘Trashmouth’ Tozier was working for radio and majoring in Communications as a young adult. Meanwhile, Eddie had picked up some more shifts at the grocery store where he’d been hired upon first moving to New York. 

Together, they were financing quite a nice little savings account by the time it was halfway through their second Freshman semester and now, with summer just beginning, they could afford to start going though vacancy ads in the classifieds.

Eddie sighed, standing at the check-out register without a single customer. He spied Mr. Costello, a regular to the small Village Grocery, in the cheese aisle debating between cheddar and Swiss. Knowing his manager was out back for a smoke break, he took up a pen and began to doodle listlessly on a pad of paper. 

The sliding doors whirled and parted, causing Eddie to glance up from his pad of paper and do a double take. Standing up straight, he looked back at Mr. Costello before making his way around the register and to the man who’d just come in.

“Uh, hi? What are you—“

Richie grabbed his hand with a mischievous glint in his dark brown eyes and pulled him toward the back of the store.

“I was missing you, baby.” Richie tossed over his shoulder, knowing full well how the pet name turned Eddie to melty play-doh. “Now, just trust me.”

And that was how within five minutes, Eddie Kaspbrak ended up pressed up against the storage shelves of the stock room, lips hard and steady against his own. 

The store always played the local radio throughout the building and ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ by Dead or Alive rang through the tiny, dark room as Richie’s hands slipped under his uniform green polo to brush over vertebrae of his spine.

_I set my sights on you_

_(And no one else will do)_

_And I, I've got to have my way now, baby_

Moaning in approval, Eddie ran his own hands up his boyfriend’s arms before reaching his neck where he tangled his fingers into Richie’s curly, black hair. 

A tongue ran along his lower lip, asking for permission, and he eagerly opened his mouth while pulling the other boy closer to him. 

Once upon a time, Eddie had shoved Richie away for even trying open-mouthed kissing, disgusted by the idea of sharing so many germs with any being, even one he loved, but these days he craved the taste of nicotine and dime store mints that was purely Richie Tozier.

_All I know is that to me_

_You look like you're havin' fun_

_Open up your lovin' arms_

_Watch out, here I come_

Richie’s fingers moved to just barely skim the sides of Eddie’s ribcage, making the smaller boy giggle and break the kiss involuntarily. Richie smirked and ducked his head to press searing kisses to Eddie’s neck and collarbone.

Struggling to find his voice, Eddie whimpered, “R-Richie, stop. I’m gonna, um, gonna get fired if my manager finds us.”

“He won’t find us,” The taller boy murmured against Eddie’s skin, sending a shiver up his spine.

Knotting his fingers deeper into Richie’s hair, he groaned, “Seriously, Richie, stop. I c-can’t think straight when you...”

He trailed off, as Richie kissed a path up to his ear, pausing to whisper, “Thought you never really thought _straight_ , Eds.” The next thing Eddie knew, Richie’s teeth were grazing his earlobe and he suddenly couldn’t care less about getting fired or beeping his boyfriend.

_You spin me right 'round, baby_

_Right 'round like a record, baby_

_Right 'round, 'round, 'round_

Giving a startled yelp, one of Eddie’s hands flew out for purchase as his knees grew weak. Packages of paper towel went flying off the shelf, sending both boys into fits of laughter. Richie rested his forehead against Eddie’s shoulder, trying to catch his breath as Eddie stroked his tangle of messy, black hair.

Sobering, Eddie sighed and shifted against Richie, “I should get back to work...”

“I don’t want you to go,” Richie whined, muffled by Eddie’s shirt.

Eddie huffed, “Don’t do that! It’s not fair. You know I’ll be off work in just a couple hours.”

“I don’t want to wait a couple of hours.” Richie murmured and Eddie rolled his eyes, grasping a fist full of hair and pulling the other boy away from him.

“God, Tozier, why are you so damn needy today?” He asked, getting slightly annoyed.

Richie shrugged with a pout and stepped back, freeing Eddie, “Fine, fine, go back to fucking work.”

The two boys left the storage room, only for Eddie to run directly into a confused Mr. Costello. The old man eyed both young men, from Richie’s rumpled hair to Eddie’s untucked shirt, before pointing to the cashier. 

“I’m ready to check out, ya hooligan.”

Eddie flushed bright red and heard Richie crack up behind him. Elbowing his boyfriend, he nodded, “Yes, of course, Mr. Costello. Right this way,” He navigated the man toward check-out.

Richie slipped past them as Eddie rang Mr. Costello up, pausing at the door to turn around and mouth  _I love you_  before he left the grocery.

Eddie rolled his eyes, the corner of his lips twitching up into a small smile, and went about telling Mr. Costello his total.

The old man handed him the money and Eddie went about counting out his change as the man muttered to himself, “Boys kissing in closets; kids these days...”

Eddie bit his lip so as not to burst into laughter, handing the money and receipt over to Mr. Costello. After the man left, Eddie glanced at his wristwatch, wondering just how many hours it would be before he was with Richie again.

* * *

**_(Four - NYU Tutor Center)_ **

The Beatles played lightly throughout the NYU Tutor Center, reminding Eddie of Richie. He loved the 60s English band and covered a few of their songs with his own band as well as hanging a poster of the Abbey Road cover in their living room, despite Eddie’s protests.

Closing his eyes briefly to help relieve his budding headache, Eddie listened closer to identify the exact song.

_When you need a shoulder to cry on_

_I hope it will be mine_

_Call me tonight, and I'll come to you_.

“Any time at all,” Eddie sang along to the song in a low voice, “Any time at all. Any time at all, all you got to do is call and I’ll be there.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet, Eds!” A voice chimed in behind him.

Eddie rolled his eyes and spun his chair around to glare at his boyfriend standing in the doorway, “You’re late, asshole.”

Richie came over to the table, throwing himself down into the chair across from Eddie, “Nah, I’m not.”

“You scheduled your tutor session for 4:00. It’s 4:17 so you’re 17 minutes late.” Eddie reasoned.

Richie quirked an eyebrow and reached over, grabbing Eddie’s arm to read the wristwatch there. “Fuck, well, then the clock on our stove is off.”

“Yeah, dipshit, I know,” Eddie snapped but there was amusement and endearment in his eyes. “It’s been off since _you_ reset it for daylight savings.”

“Whatever,” Richie shrugged, “Fuck numbers.”

“No, Richie, _not_ fuck numbers!” Eddie argued, slamming his palm into his forehead. “God, this is why you’re failing Trig.”

“I’m failing Trig because Professor G is a straight up bitch.” The other boy muttered under his breath before speaking up, “But you’re going to fix that, Eddie Spaghetti! Teach me, baby!”

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie hissed, blushing bright red and glancing at the closed door to the tutor room. He didn’t even know if he was telling Richie not to call him ‘Eddie Spaghetti’ or ‘baby’. “Now, listen up, asshole...”

They were doing pretty good for about a half hour, actually covering material until Richie inevitably grew bored. He watched with a distracted gaze as Eddie drew a graph and showed him an example of an exponential line. 

Richie’s eyes trailed from the board to Eddie and down Eddie’s frame, a smirk growing on his lips.

“Hey, Eds!”

“Hmm?” Eddie asked, looking up from the textbook to his boyfriend.

Richie nodded cockily at the board, “Nice _ass_ ymptote.”

Eddie stared at him for a moment, void of any expression. Finally, he raised an eyebrow, “Seriously, Rich?”

“Eds,” Richie’s expression grew serious, “My love for you is like y=2 to the power of x—”

“Stop.”

“—it grows exponentially.”

Eddie sighed, irritatedly, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Focus, _please_ , babe. You need to be good at math to live your li—“

“I think I am good at math,” Richie countered, leaning forward over the table. “I can add a bed, subtract your clothes, divide your legs, and—“

“Beep beep, Richie!” Eddie practically cried, the color of a tomato. “Oh my God, just shut up! We are discussing trigonometry! Not, you know, _that_!”

“That?” Richie echoed, laughing. “Eddie, you’re 20 and you are definitely not a virgin, you should be able to say the word ‘sex’.”

“Tozier, I will punch you in the face and let you fail Trig, I swear to God!”

“Okay, okay!” Richie held his hands up in mock surrender, laughing. Eddie relaxed slightly after eyeing his boyfriend suspiciously for a long moment.

“One more—“

“Richie, _no_ —“

“I wish you were Trig so I could spend hours doing you.”

There was a long stretch of silence. Richie smirking triumphantly and Eddie staring at him with his mouth slightly agape.

“Yup, I'm done. Have fun failing Trig, dumbass.”

* * *

**_(Five - Derry Home Hospital)_ **

Eddie had twenty minutes left in a twelve-hour shift. 

The thought nearly brought him to tears of relief. 

His and Richie’s shoebox house in the newer part of Derry, where they’d been living since their return to the town the year before, seemed to be calling to him from across miles. Only a cramped bus ride and twenty minutes stood between him and his boyfriend, snuggled in their bed.

It still felt a little surreal that Richie Tozier was actually in a relationship with him, Eddie Kaspbrak, even five years later. They’d been together since Eddie was 17 — he did not count the ‘Break-Up’ of '94 — and still, it didn’t seem quite possible. He found himself wondering somedays if Richie even liked him, despite the fact that the other boy had actually professed undying love... Richie was always so dramatic.

Rubbing his brow, Eddie readied a saline drip for a small girl with the flu who was dehydrated from being unable to keep anything down. He approached her room and knocked on the door frame, waving to her and her mother as she tried to smile at him.

“Hi, Alice,” Eddie greeted softly as he moved to her IV machine, saline in hand. “I have some medicine that’s going to make you feel better.”

“Promise?” Alice asked, big green eyes on him as her mother stroked her blonde curls from her forehead. 

“I’ll do you one better,” Eddie hung up the bag before turning to Alice and extending a hand, pinkie finger raised. “Pinkie promise.”

The six-year-old grinned widely and linked her finger with his. They shook and Eddie went about connecting the various tubes and priming them. Finally, he connected the line to the IV in Alice’s thin arm and unclamped the drip.

He sent a reassuring smile to Alice’s mother, “She should be feeling better here in the next few hours.”

The mother nodded, still gazing at her daughter worriedly.

“Eddie?” 

He turned around to find one of his favorite fellow nurses, Grace, standing in the doorway. Quirking an eyebrow at her, he glanced at the mother and daughter duo he was still attending to. “Yes?”

“There’s someone here for you. He said he was a friend?” She informed him, giving Alice and her mother an apologetic look. “I can take over for you here.”

“Uh, yeah,” Eddie nodded, confused. What friend of his would come visit him at work? Any Loser would just wait until he was home... right? “Thanks, Gracie.”

She smiled at him and swapped him positions in the room. He heard her introduce herself as he left the room and headed to the ER nursing station.

He slowed his pace upon spotting a disastrous black hoodie and dark, torn skinny jeans. Richie was a grown ass man and still dressed like a high schooler, even when showing up unannounced to his boyfriend’s work apparently. The other man was chatting animatedly with the Head Nurse, Carla, and grinning.

His dark eyes swept the area, spotting the perplexed Eddie, and he stood up straighter, “There’s my Eddie Spaghetti!”

This sent Eddie into action. He blushed and rushed forward, grabbing Richie’s arm and pulling him away. He called to Carla over his shoulder, “I apologize for anything he said!”

Dragging Richie around the corner, Eddie hissed, “Why are you here?” His stomach dropped and he began scanning over his boyfriend, “Oh shit, are you hurt?”

“Eds, breathe,” Richie placed his hands on Eddie’s arms and used his thumbs to rub circles on the other boy’s skin. “Can’t a boyfriend just come to pick his bitch up from work every once and a while?”

“I’m not your bitch,” Eddie snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. “And why did you tell Gracie you were my ‘friend’ coming to see me?”

“Oh, um,” Richie took one hand back to fiddle with the strings of his hoodie. “Well, you just started here so I wasn’t sure if everyone knew about you having a boyfriend.”

“Trashmouth, we’ve been out of the closet since we started college. I’m not going back in anytime soon,” Eddie waved his arms, “but that’s not the point! The point is— Wait, you came to pick me up?”

“I got done at the station early,” Richie shrugged. “And I hate that you always have to take the bus and I get the car. I figured it might be a nice thing to do.”

Since Richie worked on the edge of town at Derry K105.3 radio station, hosting his own little show from 3 pm to 6 every weekday night and running the soundboard for other DJs while Eddie worked in the middle of town at Derry Home Hospital, they had agreed Richie got the car and Eddie got the bus pass. Did Eddie like taking the bus? No, but he did like doing things the logical way and until they got a second car, this was the way to go.

Still, that Richie had thought about him and his resentment for the bus, even after he himself had had a long day, made Eddie melt just a little.

Smiling with only half his lips, he reached up and took Richie’s face in his hands. He pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s lips and rested their foreheads together. 

“I have one more patient to check on. Think you can keep yourself out of trouble for that long?” Eddie asked, raising his eyebrows.

Richie bit his lip, making Eddie just want to kiss him again. “No guarantees, baby.”

Eddie sighed and nodded, pecking Richie’s jawline before stepped back. “I guess I can’t expect anything else. Go wait at the nursing station and I’ll come find you when I’m done.”

He started down the hall toward his last patient but was stopped by Richie grasping his wrist. Eddie looked back at his boyfriend, questioning. 

“Go do what you love, Eds. Go help people.” 

Eddie smiled as Richie released his grip. “I will but, you do know that I’ll also be pretty happy to go home with you when I’m done, right? I happen to love that, too, Trashmouth.”

“And I happen to love _you_.”

“Shut up, Tozier.”

“You know you love me, Eds!” Richie yelled down the hall after Eddie.

God,  _did_  he ever.

* * *

** _(+ One - Derry K105.3)_ **

“So, we got Records back in the studio with us after a week away,” David Olsen, who’d been filling in for the last week for Richie, said into his boom mic. “So, ladies and gents, without further ado, Rich ‘Records’ Tozier!”

The soundboard operator pressed a button and a round of pre-recorded applause filled the room. Richie smiled and lazily rolled his eyes at David, who gave him a look of exasperation in agreement. 

Leaning into his mic, Richie started off with his English gentleman voice, “‘Ello, me lovely listeners.”

David laughed, “Good to have you back, Records.”

“Good to be back, Davey.” Richie responded with a sigh.

And it was true. 

It was good to be back in his studio, doing his thing, catering to his usually late show audience. He’d been promoted to K105.3’s lead 6 pm to midnight host and disc jockey about two years ago. Only he had to come in at 2 pm every day for staff meetings and administrative red tape. Then, he ran soundboard for Davey from 3 until he went on air. The ten hour days were long but the higher ranking position defiantly had its benefits… and its adversities.

Still, he was glad to be back.

“For anyone who’s been living under a rock the last week,” Davey preambled, “Your favorite late night jockey was in California for a Radio Communications conference for the last week. Tell me, Records, what’s LA like?”

Richie chuckled, “You’re not gonna believe me, Davey, but it’s actually bigger than our fair Derry.” He answered sarcastically.

“Nah, you don’t say!” Davey answered with equal wit.

“I do say, good sir,” Richie broke back in his English Gentleman and laughter rang out from the soundboard before he cleared his throat, returning to his normal voice. “No, no, LA’s really great. In another life, I’d probably even live out there.”

Davey nodded, “Fair enough, fair enough. So, Records, highs and lows of this week-long vacation — sorry, _conference_. Start with the high; what was the best thing about the trip?”

Richie smirked cockily, “The women, of course.” 

They both burst into laughter and David clapped Richie hard on the back as the young jockey quickly backpedaled, “I’m kidding, Davey, obviously. I _am_ married, remember? And if the good ole ball and chain heard me say that, I’d be dead… Still, the ladies are a whole different caliber down in Cali, I’m telling ya.”

They both laughed again and Richie continued, “My real highest point was when I got to meet Ozzy Osbourne, though.”

“You’re shitting me,” David asked, floored, and Richie knew his co-workers swear was being beeped out in the five-second delay. Ah, the irony of being literally beeped…

“I ain’t shittin’ ya, me boy.” Richie leaned back in his chair. “A jockey from the area had a contact and offered to introduce me. You don’t just turn down the Oz.”

“True, true,” David raised his hands in mock surrender, “Okay, so the lowest part?”

The answer came easily to Richie, not even having to think about it before he said, “Not seeing my family for a week.”

“Oh, boo!” Davey groaned, “Come on, man, that’s such a boring, bullshit answer.”

“It’s not bullshit,” Richie shook his head and shrugged, “Unlike you, Davey, I actually _enjoy_ my significant other and my kids.”

He did, oh God, he did. 

Being away from Eddie, his little girl, his boys, it was like torture. 

One night, he’d actually had to call Eddie at two in the morning, begging him to go check on the twins because he’d had a dream where they were just gone, taken away. Eddie had checked and both infants had been sound asleep, perfectly fine. Richie had broken down from fear and exhaustion, he had talked about leaving the conference early, that he missed them too much to stay the full week, that he needed to be back with them.

Eddie had listened, quietly and carefully even though he was undoubtedly even more tired than Richie from chasing after three kids under the age of five all on his own. When Richie had grown silent almost an hour later, he’d sighed. 

_Babe, I know it’s hard. I can’t imagine being away for a week, but you are where you need to be right now. You have three more days and we’re fine here. You can do this, Rich. I know you can… And we’ll be waiting for you when you’re done._

Bringing himself back to the studio and Davey, he tried to remember what his co-worker had even asked. Oh, right, David had asked if he really had kids in an incredulous voice. Of course, no one would believe Rich ‘Records’ Tozier was settled down…

“Yeah, I _really_ had kids, Davey. You’ve seen fucking pictures of them, dude.”

“Oh…right,” Davey shifted like he was uncomfortable and Richie got the impression that he did not remember any one of Richie’s children by name or appearance. “But a week away has got to be like a vacation, right? I mean, how old are the little tykes?”

“Cassie’s four and my boys, Alex and Aaron, are only five months old,” Richie answered easily, a small smile growing on his face just talking about his family. “It’s not like a vacation at all, man. I missed ‘em like crazy and I don’t even get to see them tonight because I don’t get done here till after they’re all asleep.”

“Damn, dude, that’s rough.” Davey trailed off, obviously having no idea where Richie was coming from. “Moving on…”

An hour later, they broke for the 7 pm All-Music hour. 

Richie rubbed his neck, trying to relax his muscles that were still sore from his flight. He needed caffeine, he decided, and soon. Walking toward the staff kitchenette, he slipped his hand into his jean pocket and took out his wallet.

Flipping it open, he smiled at the pictures the unraveled from within. 

Cassie, the day she was born, the very first time Eddie had held her. 

Cassie, taking her first steps right to Stuttering Bill of all people. 

Alex and Aaron, the day they were born with Bevvie holdin' one of em and Ben Haystack the other; Bevvie’d been pregnant for the second go round herself at the time. 

Alex and Aaron in the outfits Mikey had gotten for them, reading “Double” and “Trouble”.

And at the bottom of the fold out, Eddie. A picture from way back, it seemed, when they’d only just started dating in high school. 

He was resting his chin on his palm, elbow on his knee, with the Quarry as his background. His eyebrows were raised in exasperation at the camera — or more accurately at Richie — but a smile of utter endearment adorned his lips. It was a picture that reminded Richie that even on their bad days, even when he fucked-up bad, even when no one else could stand him, Eddie _loved_ him.

“Papa!”

Richie nearly tripped over his own feet, whirling around at the achingly familiar voice. 

A lively blur of long, chocolate brown curls and big baby blues sprinted down the hallway toward him and he stooped to lift the child right into the air. His felt his eyes water pathetically as he held her tight and buried his face in her hair. She smelled like _home_ and her tiny arms squeezed Richie’s neck.

“Cassie Anne!” He laughed out tearfully, ducking away from her to see her bright, grinning face. Glancing behind her, his heart skipped a beat as he spied the love of his life at the end of the hall with a full sky blue double stroller.

Cassie gripped his chin, pulling his face back toward her to regain his full attention, “Papa, you was gones foevea!”

“Gone forever, Cas.” Eddie corrected like it was second nature while rolling his eyes, “And no, Papa wasn’t. It was only a week, baby girl.”

The child pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, still in her Papa’s arms. “ _Still!_ ”

“I know, Cassie Anne. It was forever—“

“Richie, don’t encourage her dramatics!”

“—but I promised I’m never going away for that long again. I missed you too much.” He bopped the little girl’s nose, which she scrunched up in response while giggling. “You and Daddy and Alex and Aaron.”

Cassie grew sober at the mention of her little brother and rolled her eyes, “ _Eryone_ missus Alex and Aaron.”

“Cassidy,” Eddie broke in, his tone warning, “We talked about this. And its ‘everyone’, not ‘eryone’.”

Richie raised a questioning eyebrow to his husband and only received an eye roll very similar to the display their daughter had put on only seconds ago and a mouthed _later_. He shrugged it off, grinning at Eddie, “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to visit you, dumba—“ Eddie cut himself off, blushing a bit as he glanced at Cassie and tried to ignore Richie’s smirk. It had been Eddie’s idea not to swear in front of the kids. It made his slip-ups and near slip-ups all the more hilarious to Richie. 

“ _Silly_. I figured you’d want to see them before tomorrow morning. Then again Alex and Aaron haven’t been sleeping through the night anyway, so you’d probably have a reunion with them before morning anyway… Whatever.”

Richie grinned, his heart constricting in his chest. He pecked Cassie’s cheek as he set her down and mouthed a _Thank you_ to Eddie. His husband half smiled and shrugged, the look in his eyes soft and tender.

It was just another thing Richie absolutely treasured about Eddie Kaspbrak, now Tozier. He always just _knew_ even without Richie saying so. He’d known Richie would be desperate to see Cassie, Alex, and Aaron and he’d apparently driven them to the edge of town just for Richie because he’d known.

Richie stooped down before the stroller, grinning, “And how are my Young Dudes?”

“Oh my God, _stop_ calling them that! They are not Mott the Hoople lyrics, Trashmouth! We named them for a reason.” Eddie snapped.

“Yeah, because you just _loved_ ‘Alex’ and ‘Aaron’. ‘They’ll both start with As, Richie! It’ll be so cute, Richie!’” He did a lazy impression of Eddie at the end but even his half-assed effort produced a pretty accurate portrayal. He was the Man of Many Voices, after all.

“I let you do ‘ _Smith’_ and _‘Axl’_ for their middle names!” Eddie retorted, indignantly as Cassie snuggled her face into his side. He rested a hand on her head, in absentminded comfort. “We compromised!"

Richie didn’t even glance at his common-law husband, reaching out to settle a hand on the tummies of each baby boy, feeling them breathe in and out. 

Alex was still, staring at his father with an expression so serious it made Richie chuckle. Alex always looked so stern and it was hilarious on his chubby, cherub face. Aaron, on the other hand, was squirming at times. He was, without a doubt, their most restless baby. If he was awake, he was moving.

“Hi, guys,” He muttered, trace the lines of their features with his eyes. They were still so little but growing so fast, he worried about what he’d missed in just a week away from them. But both Alex and Aaron looked just like he remembered, their little faces etched into his brain right alongside their sister’s and other father’s. 

“I missed you so much.”

Finally, he looked up at Eddie and they shared exhausted but content smiles. Richie was reminded in that moment that he would have none of this without the man in front of him. Eddie made him a man capable of being a father, a pretty damn good one too… Most days.

“And I love you,” Richie mused, not removing his eyes from Eddie, even though he knew he wasn’t just speaking to him. He was telling Cassie and Alex and Aaron, too. He loved them, he loved them, he _loved them._

And Eddie knew, too, because he always did.

**Author's Note:**

> OH MY GOD, Cassie, Alex, and Aaron are my life. I LOVE THESE KASPBRAK-TOZIER BABIES SO MUCH! Literally, would die for them...


End file.
